Since then we have had a very wet July and the start of August has been much the same. We had a rain front cross the coast on Friday night, and another one is due on Sunday. In winter many of us hibernate, so it feels good to get out when we have some sunshine, or to meet up with a friend in a cafe.
Too cold to sit here on the waterfront.....
Or here outside the cafe.....
This is much better.... cosy inside and a delicious array of goodies in the cabinet where I met my friend at Benesse Cafe
We are blessed with LOTS of cafes in Bunbury where I live. And of course, we all have our favourites. I particularly love the ones that bake wholesome food on site. This was at Natural Temptations
Where they were adding a little spring sunshine to the footpath on a winter's day......
But if you don't want to go out you can always cook a wholesome slice at home. I've borrowed this recipe for sugar free Energy Bars from the So Vegan blog. Packed with oats, seeds, nuts, and dried fruit, they are really delicious. I made it today.
Here is the recipe with some of my own notes added in..... do you have problems adapting recipes? I am usually happy to give it a go...
Ingredients:
1 cup oats
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (I accidentally bought pepitas, but they were fine)
1 cup almonds
1/2 cup raw buckwheat groats (I couldn't find any, so I substituted the same amount of plain flour which worked fine if you are not worried about gluten) (So Vegan recommends just using more oats or another grain) (another reader suggested spelt)
1/2 cup raisins (sultanas are fine)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup soft dried apricots (or you could use dates)
1/4 cup maple syrup (or you could use honey)
1/4 cup water
Note: Buckwheat Groats can be found in the kosher section of your supermarket, if you have one. They are called Kasha. It is not wheat but a berry. There is no gluten.
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- Line a large baking tray with baking paper. Spread out the oats, pumpkin seeds and almonds evenly on the tray, then roast for 10 minutes in the preheated oven.
- Meanwhile, put the softened apricots, maple syrup and water in a blender and blend until completely smooth, then transfer to a mixing bowl. Note: I found that I needed to soften the apricots by cooking in the maple syrup and water first before I blended them)
- Next, add the buckwheat groats, raisins and cranberries to the bowl.
- Remove the baking tray from the oven and leave to cool, but leave the oven switched on. After cooling, transfer the roasted oats, pumpkin seeds, and almonds to the large mixing bowl. Mix all together. The mixture needs to be sticky. (I added a little extra water)
- Line a 7” x 7” square cake tin (I just used my usual 9 x 13" rectangle slice tin) with baking paper, then transfer the mixture into the tin. Smooth over the top using the back of a spoon, pushing down to make sure the mixture is compact. Make sure you push down as firmly as possible to prevent the bars from falling apart when you slice them into bars. (this is very important)
- Place the baking tin in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Remove the tin from the oven and leave the energy bars to cool completely. Note: the energy bars might crumble if you try to slice them before they have cooled completely.
- Cut into bars
Thank you so much for stopping by. I value your comments and look forward to hearing from you. I will try to visit your blogs in return. Have a wonderful week.
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Thanks for sharing the recipe. Will share it to with Vegan daughter. :)
ReplyDelete#Yum! This looks like a fabulous recipe. I love healthy snacks and this would be better than a shop bought biscuit with my morning coffee! Bunbury is looking very very pretty in your photos.
ReplyDeleteWinter looks lovely - as does that energy bar recipe.
ReplyDeleteWhat a tasty recipe! I'm not sure what a groat IS, even, so I might do like you and simply use flour.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2017/08/oooh-baby.html
I looked for groat but couldn't find it. You can substitute with another grain or oats or gluten free flour.
DeleteThat top shot looks like heaven and c'mon how cold can it get, lol. I remember planning a trip to St. Louis one winter because it was the closest place above zero (32). But I believe we were going to take a train and the tracks froze. Those bars sound fan tastic. What you call winter I call biking weather. I adore your bike photo btw.
ReplyDeleteGlad I caught your recipe here - the recipe looks healthy and delicious! Would be thrilled if you could share this post with All Seasons -this week August Adventures - you still have 7 hours time (it's almost noon here in California, and link is open till Wednesday 7 pm, Pacific time)). My kind of life here! Hope to see you there there
ReplyDeleteThank you for the invite - I will!
DeleteThank you much for adding All Seasons to your list and linking the delicious health bars (definitely am going to make them when the weather has cooled off. The bike of the crochet lover makes me smile:)
ReplyDeleteHave great week and see you back the next one:)
I love the bicycle
ReplyDeleteMollyx
From that first photo it certainly looks very wintery over in the West. We've had unseasonally warm winter weather here. A few days ago it was 30 degrees, but mainly it has been in the range of 23 to 25 degrees and brilliant sunshine everyday. It just doesn't feel like winter at all! Thanks for the energy bar recipe. I will give it a try. I have been making bliss balls which are also a very tasty healthy snack.
ReplyDeleteThe opposite seasons in Australia always blows my mind. Here, we are just gearing up for winter. And, since where I live, it's typical to see high temperatures, when the temperature drops even a little bit, I think it is freezing! But there? It really would be cold at this time of year!
ReplyDeleteSo why don't I ever hear about hot temperatures in Christmas songs? Do Australians not sing? Or maybe the US is just too far away to hear Australian artists? ;)
ha! yes we do sing Christmas songs. And I must admit many of ours come from colder climates with snow. But we do have our own too. Have you ever heard of "Six White Boomers" and we have am Aussie 12 Days of Christmas. I've just found this link - and an idea for a Christmas post! http://www.australiantimes.co.uk/10-greatest-ever-australian-christmas-songs/
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